In the videos, Cho complained about hedonism and Christianity and said he felt he had no other choice.

"I didn't have to do it. I could have left. I could have fled. But now I am no longer running. If not for me, for my children and my brothers and sisters that you [expletive]. I did it for them."

Cho also tried to portray himself as a martyr and blamed others for his actions.

"You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my conscience. You thought it was one pathetic boy's life you were extinguishing. Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people."

In the videos, Cho spoke about the shootings in the past tense, but it is unclear when the video messages were recorded. He can be seen turning off the video camera, an indication that he taped the messages himself.

Cho discussed "martyrs like Eric and Dylan" on the tapes, an apparent reference to Columbine High School gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who killed 13 people and themselves on April 20, 1999 in Littleton, Colorado.

Wealthy students at Virginia Tech were the target of much of Cho's anger.

Excerpts from video

Cho's messages often were rambling and filled with hate.

• "You just loved to crucify me. You loved inducing cancer in my head, terror in my heart and ripping my soul all this time."

• "Do you know what it feels like to be spit on your face and have trash shoved down your throat? Do you know what it feels like to dig your own grave? Do you know what it feels like to have your throat slashed from ear to ear? Do you know what it feels like to be torched alive? Do you know what it feels like to be humiliated and be impaled upon a cross and left to bleed to death for your amusement?"

• "You have never felt a single ounce of pain your whole life. And you want to inject as much misery in our lives because you can, just because you can."